Boat repossessions up in Georgia

Posted on September 13th, 2010

Georgia’s foreclosure crisis is not just on dry land, as lenders are repossessing larger boats at Lake Lanier in record numbers.

One year after a drought, Holiday Marina is busy again, WSB-TV in Atlanta reports, but vacancy signs are up at slips that once were home to the biggest of the big – houseboats valued at more than $1 million.

Alex Laidlaw, vice president of Westrec Marinas, told WSB, “We had a significant number here at Holiday, over 20, which represents a pretty big population to us. Typically, we are at 95 percent occupied in the docks. Right now, we’re about 65 percent. I’ve got about 30 percent due to foreclosures and people having to sell their boats and get out of them due to the economy.”

Boat broker J.R. Schwan said he has seen short sales, foreclosures and repossessions.

“Some folks that were in the contracting business were tied to the home industry, so the boat was turned over to the bank for sale,” he told WSB.